Solar-heat-collecting apparatus



W. G. CARTTER AND E. D. ARTHUR.

SOLAR HEAT COLLECTING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED APR.21.1919.

Patente Aug. 8, i922.,

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W. G. CARTTER AND E. D. ARTHUR.

SOLAR HEAT COLLECTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION HLED APR.21, 1919.

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bination and arrangement clipart/s the purposes of` whichwill be apparent to those skilled in the artfrom 21a-consideration of the preferred form of constructionherein shown.

a one bf a@ pancipnabjeca er this iam- 't'ion is to provide an apparatus]L that will be proof a, ainst injury by low temperatures; or as is well known solanheateolleetors ,necearily have-a part thereoi2 in the open lwhere it is' exposed to changing tempera tures which latter, when below the freezing polnt, is liable to injure the apparatus. Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus that will be more'eclent in collecting thefsolarheat and for' storing and conserving said heat when collected.

Another ob]ect ofthe vinvention is to-provide an apparatusin which a heat storage tank of large sizevvill be inteed' `between the. heat collector and the heat utilizing means;` the purpose ofwhich will be hereafter explained. g Another obj vide'- a means* Ufor `evenly distributin through the water tank the heated water that. has passed through the heat storage -tank'whioh distribution is accomplished by providing a plurality of discharge pipes for the heated water at diderentheightsin said water tank.

@ther objects land advantages of this invention will 'be' apparent from a consideration.l ofthe preferred form of construction.

herein shown described and claimed.

The drawings illustrate the invention. Figure 1 is a side "elevation of the apparatus installed in a house part of the latter being .shown in. section and? broken awa Y F1g. 2 is a central vertical section through the tanks associ-ated with the apparatus..

Fig. 3

is la plan elevation of heat collector removed rm the house' roof;

i Specification of Letters Patent.

invented' Aa new and use-.collector..

vperpendicular thereto. Y rlhe frame .of the heat collector 1 consists of the ends 3 and 4, and the sides 5 and 6 ect ofthe invention is to protegral and which Aand A 15 respectively a part ofthe glass covering broken' away ;Ashoiwing the coilpipe associated therewith. f

i Patented Aug. $911922.

Application filed April 21, 1919. Serial No'. 291.7%.

Fig. A is a section taken on -the line x4-m* y of FigQ the parts being enlarged and showing in detail .the construdtion of the heat Fig. 5 is a section through-one pipe of the heating coi1"showing a modified form of heat collector.

Fig. 6 is a modiiedfornrof what is shown in Fig. 2.. p

F1g. 7 1s an enlarged vlew of a portion of the interlor tank enclosed inthe ellipse A in Fig. 6. s

ln detail the heat collector 1 is secured to the.. roof of.. a; house 2 by any known a .J n means; and 1n a posltlon that will expose the top surface of the heat collector vto thev suns rays; and this exposure -1s preferably such' that at the noon hour the rays offthe sun will contact with said surface inl a llne respectively which arev secured to the bottom 7 by any well known/means; forming thereyby anaopen top -box in whichthelheat collecting apparatus. is secured.`

The -interior surface" of the box 1s first et Vlined with a non-heat conducting material such as asbestos@ and over this material 8 is laid a hed of copper 9 whichlatterv is one of the best heat conductors known;- and the purposes of these linings will be hereafter explained.

A s seen in Fig. 4 the bottom 7 is provided .with the channel 10whi'ch in cross section is the contour' of a circle,l and into which channel is fitted the linings 8 and 9 thus orniing a bed for and in which the coil of pipe 11 ispartlyembedded.,lv

' The coll or pipe 11.-is '.frined' of the" lengths 12 and turned 'ends lwhich arein.- v ornua' continuous passageway from the inlet tothe outlet ends 1d for and the lengths' 12 are positioned so that from the inlet-to theoutletends of the coil there-is an upward inc lination, Yand this upward inclination Aisf thev purpose of reduing'the iesistanoetothe How -o the duid in said coil.

rllhe upper' inner edges of the ends 31j and- 7 d andthe sides 5 and 6 are recessed to *form Athe seat 16 for the. lass covering 17 which* latter can be'seoure in plaeby anyweli 'known means, i

Within the building 2 and referably in the attic thereof is a Water tank 18 which is enclosed in the non-heat conducting material 19 Within the casing 20.

Through apipe 21 the Water 18 is supplied to the tankl 18 from a source `not 'showny and through the pipes 22 and 23- cold and hot Water respectively are supplied to the' Water distributing system of the 1 0 house'2; which distributingr system and also the lower part of the house are broken away.

To the bottom of the tank 18 there is connected one end, of the pipe 24 the other end of which is threaded through the bottom of the heat storage tank 25 and has the end thereof secured to the 4distribu'ter head 26 .(see -Fig. 2).

Within the storage tank 25 there are three coiled pipes 27, 28 and 29 respectively each 210 of whichv has one end connected to the distributor head 26; and these coils extend up Ward I1n the tank 25 to different heights.

The `coils 27 and 28 have threaded sockets 304 and 31 respectively into Which the re- 25 spective pipes 32 and 33'are fitted and these pipes extend through the casing of the tank 25 and also through the casing of thetank 18. To prevent leakage from the tanks 18 and 25 the pipes 32 and 33 are encased at the point of egress through said tanks with the packing rings 34 which latter are seated in the sockets-35 and held inv place by the screw plugs 36. 35

Aupward in the tank 25; and.I has the `end thereof extending through the end of said tank; and to prevent leakagethe pipe 29 Vis provided -with a. packing similan to that en- 40 casing the pipes 32 and 33. y

l From the foregoing it. can readily be seen that-'the water in the tank 18`is free to pass coils 27; 28 and 29 and discharge back into thetank 18 through the pipes 32, 33 and 37 circulatory ,system is unbalanced by heat.

As heretofore indicated the change of temperature is accomplished by the solar heat collector; and the solar heat is transmitted V to the water by the following means. t f Secured to the bottom of'the tank 25 is one end of the pipe 39 which extends out- Ward through'the roof of the house 2 and 'has its other end r,connected to the inlet end 14 of the coil pipe 11. To the outlet end 15 of/the coil'pipe 11 is secured one end'of the pipe `40`Which latter extends inwardly through the roof )of 'the house 2 and has its other kend.attalgfgd near the upper .end of the tank 25.

Theupper end of the coil pipe 29 pass es rlhe end of the pi-pe 29 is securedto onescrewedinto the socket 38 on the top ofthe' through the pipe 24, distributorhead 26 and 50 when the vtemperature of .the water in this The tank 25 has on the top end thereof the inlet 41 Lthat is closed by the cap screw 42; and through the inlet 41 the tank 25 is kept filled with a non-freezing fluid 43; Which of course {il-ls the coil 11 and its pipe connections to said tank. i When theheat rays ofthe sun contact with 4'the coil llithe heat thereof'is transmitted to they fluid 43; Which transmission of heat induces a circulation of said fluid; the colder fluid passing from the bottom of the tank 25 throu h the pipe 39 to displace the Warmer flid in the coil 11 which passes up- Ward through the coil as itis heated and back to the tank 25 through the pi e 40; andi-through this circulation the heal? from the sun isI transferred from the collector 1 to the. storage tank 25. i

lt'will also be apparent that as the yheat is transferred from the collector 1 to the storage 25 that the stored heat will be trans- 'ferred to the coil pipes 27, 28 and 29 and transferred to the Water therein which transition lof 'heat causes a circulation of the `water in the tank 18.and lits pipe connections -to the. aforementioned co1ls consequently the Waterin the tank 18 will acquire practically the same temperature as the temperature ofthe non-freezing liquid 43 in the tank 25 and the temperature of the liquid-in the latter tank will be'the same as that in the collec-tor 1 before the circulations in :these systems is stopped 4by abalancing of temperatures.

ln'order to more efliciently collect the heat raysf in the coil 11 either by radiation or conduction the' sides and; bottom of ithe collector. 1 are' lined with a non-heatconducting materiall 8 preferably asbestos" so that the heat rays will be deiected by said lining;

ing 9 transmitted to the coil`11.

Also-as seen in Figs. 6 and 7 a modified form for transferring the' heat yfrom the storagetank 2 5 to the water supply is shown.

in4 a vertical position and its center portion is broken away.'

The pipe 24 vhas one end. connected to the tank 18 a'nd, the other'end thereof passes through the end- 45 -of the tank '25 and is secured in one en d of the cylinder 46 and near the top-edge thereof; and to prevent leakage the pipe 24 where it p assesthrough the end 45is provided with a packing similar to thatsheretofore described.

To the other end of the cylinder 46 at the bottom edge thereofA is secured one end of ythe pipe .47 which latter extends through the end 48 of the,tank 25 and is packed in like manner to pipe 24 to prevent leakage. The pipe 47 iswturned upward" and to it are connected one end of the pipes 32, 33 and 37; so that the water in the tank 18 can rasshrough the pipe 24, Cylinder la pipe and by conductionl through-the copperli'n# ne 'In this m'odiication the tank 25 Lhas its'end l the heat collector 1 are practically the aaaaira 4:7 andthe branch ,pipes 32, 33 and 37 back into the tank 18.

The pipe connections froml the tank 25 to same as in the other form. g

- ln order to produce a greater heat conduc`v tion area the cylinder 46 it provided with a helical ribbon 49 which latter and also the exterior surface of the cyl'inderc'an be encased in a copper jacket 5() as seen in Fig. 7.

ln operation the heat rays from the s un either by radiation ior conduction are transmitted to the coil 11;ad from this coil are transferred to the non-freezing liquid therein; thereby unbalancing the temperature thereof as heretofore statedand causing al circulation of said fluid by which means the heat is carried to the storage tank 25.

The yheat accumulated in. storage tank 25- is transferred to the water in tank 18 by circulation; of water through coil-pipes 27, 28 and 29. y

' lt is thus seen that the coiled pipes in the storage tank are heated by the heat collector and -that as the temperature'rises a circulation of water to and from the water tank is produced and the temperature of all the water is raised eventually to the approximate temperature of the non-freezing fluid in said storage tank.

From theforegoing it lcan readily be seen that after the'water in the tank 1:8 has been and a right is reserved to all such changes and modifications as do not depart fromV the scope and spirit of the preferred form of structure herein shown. l

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire'to Isecure by Letters Patent is.

1. In a solar heater, a heat collector having a coiled pipe therein that is exposed to the rays of the sun, a heat storage tank, pipe connections between said tank and Said coiled pipe, a water tank, a pipe having one end connected to said water tank and the other-end of said pipe having a distributor head'connected Vthereto and'being insideA said heat storage tank, and a plurality of pipes connected to saidv distributer head and connected to said water tank at different heights.

2. A solar heater comprising a box having a bottom and adapted to be exposed to the sun; a heat conducting bed in said box and insulated from tho bottom thereof; e

heat collector comprising coiled pipe' laid in said heat conducting bed; a heat storage tank; a pipe connection-between said heat y jcollector and said storage. tank; a water f tank, and means whereby the` heat collected lby .said heatcollector is `utilized to heat the water in said` Water tank.

3. A solar heater comprising a box having a bottom and adapted to be exposed to the sun, la copper bed in said box; an as bestos lining between said box and copper bed, to vprevent heat collected by said bed from escaping; through vthe sides and bottom of the box; a/ heat collector comprising `lengths' of parallelvpipes with alternate ends connected to form a continuous passage having inlet and outlet ends; a heat storage `ltank; pipes connecting the inlet and outlet ends of said heat collector with said storage tank; a non-freezing fluid heat conveying medium filling said storage tank, and pipes connected to and `through said heat collector; a water tank; a pipe connecting the bottom of Said water tank with a distributor head in said storage tank; coiled/pipes having their lower ends attached to and .ex-

tending upward in said storage tank from said head to different heights; and pipeconnections from the top ends. of said coiled pipes back to said water tank.

4. In a solar heater, a heat collector, a storage tank, pipe connections between said heat collector and said storage tank, a water tank, and means vfor transmittin l, from said Water tank through sai storage tank and back to the water tank at different heights relative'ther'eto.

5. In a solar heater, a heat storage tank; pipe connections between said storage tank and heat collector; a non-freezing 'Huid heat conveying medium in saidV storage tank that is adapted to circulate to said heat collector through oneofs'ald plpes and return to said storage tank through the .other pipe; a distributor head in said storage tank; coiled pipes rising to diderent ing the upper ends 'of said coiled pipes with said water tank.

l6. ln a solar heater, a heat collector com- I prising a coiled pipe adapted to be exposed to the rays of the sun; a heat .conducting bed under the coiled pipe of sald heat colcollector; a

Water heights in said storage tank, and having.

lector and'in which the coiled pipe is artly' embedded; a non-heat* conducting under said bed; a heat storage tank; means for' transferrin collector to sai heat storage tank: a distributor headc in said storage tank; coiled pipes risin to di'erent heights in said storage tan and having their lower ends ning-v the heat from said heat connected to said head;`a water tank; a discharge pipe connecting the bottom of said water tank to said head; a return pipe connectin the highest coiled pipe withV the top of sai water tank; and other return pipes connecting .the vother coiled ipes with said water tank at'different heig ts. i

7. A solar heater comprising la copper jaoketed coiled pipe adapted to beexposedf to the rays of the sun, land having an inlet and an outlet end; a copperbed on which saidpipe is positioned andv in which it is partly embedded; a heat storage tank; pipes connecting the inlet and outlet ends of 'said coiled pipe with said. storage tank; anon'- freezing fluid heat conducting medium'lling said heat storage tank and adapted to' circulate through said -pipes and the coiled pipe connected thereto; a distributor head in the bottom of said heat -storage tank; coiled water pipes having their lower ends connected to said distributor head; al water tank; a discharge pipe connecting the .bot-

tom of said water tank with said distributor head water return pipes connecting the 'upper ends of said coiled water pipes withsaid .water tank, and arranged to enter said water tanxk at different elevations. 8. 'In a solar heater, .a heat collector con sisting of Ia coiled pipe exposed to-rays of the sun, a heat storage tank, means for transferring the heat from said heat collector to said storage tank, a plurality of coiled pipes having their lower ends con` nected to a waterl inlet in the bottom of said storage tank, said'pipes rising to different 

